For the younger generation, draft cards and hippies, free love and drugs are something hipsters gawk at, but only to say how uncool it is.

As for the Firehouse Theatre’s recent production, The first act was very powerful, and the songs came alive with some of the standout stars of the cast.

From the first moment Matt Polson, who plays Claude, steps on stage, his presence became electric with his voice being as equally talented. Polson was belting songs which moved some people in the audience to tears.

As the musical goes on it’s hard to follow the narrative of the story; although there is a plot, the frequent musical numbers occurring with only a couple minutes of actual dialogue in between make it a tad confusing.

It almost felt like a sit-in of hippies singing their hearts while on all the drugs, and I mean all the drugs.

The powerful diva-like voice of Carolyn Meade, who plays Dionne, makes you wish she had more solo numbers, but Grey Garrett makes up for the lost time with her beautiful solo, ‘Easy To Be Hard.’

The weakest link of the cast was Nicklas Aliff, who plays the eccentric Berger. The way he performed the role off came off more like an annoying bully to the tribe, as opposed to the free love wheeling friend you would expect him to be.

The duo who play Claude’s parents, Paul Major and Starlet Night, star in multiple roles, and nail them each time.

The first act ends on a powerful note (with some tasteful nudity) and you’re left feeling good during the intermission, but once the second act begins the story seems to fizzle out until the end.

It’s mostly about the tribe going to protest, with Claude struggling with whether or not to burn his draft card, all the while everyone takes drugs and trips out. Claude has a major hallucination, which is confusing to say the least.

Obviously a hallucination is supposed to be a little confusing, but what he sees doesn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason to the story.

Everything leads up to the culmination of whether or not Claude goes to war, and how his decision impacts the rest of the members of the tribe.

The finale of ‘Let the Sunshine In’ is a love fest and ends the show on a good note. During the dance, audience members were pulled on stage for some good times, so if you’re in an aisle seat, be prepared to possibly get scooped up.

Hair continues its run until July 19th and tickets are $35 and available online here, 804-355-2001, and in person at the Firehouse Theatre Box Office.

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